Pneumonia

Prevention

Not smoking is the best thing to do to help prevent pneumonia. People who smoke are at a higher risk of getting pneumonia and children whose parents smoke are at a higher risk for pneumonia.

Some of the germs that can cause pneumonia are easily spread from person to person. They are carried in the nose and throat of an infected person. When an infected person coughs, they spray drops of infected saliva (spit) into the air around them. A person who breathes in that air can get pneumonia.